Improvement in toy railways



C. G. SHEPHERD. Toy-Railway.

No. 212,630. Patented Feb'. 25, 1879.

of the toy put together.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OEEICE CHARLES (J. SHEPHERD, OF PASSAIO, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY RAILWAYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 212,630, dated February 25, .1879 application filed September 2, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEARLEs (J. SEEP- HERD, of Passaic, in the county of Pass-aic and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Toy Railways, of which the following is a specification:

This toy is intended to represent an elevated railway, and it is made of pieces of wood set together with mortises and tenons in a peculiar manner, so as to be very firm, and adapted to toy cars. WVhen not in use, the pieces can be separated and packed into a small compass. It affords amusement and instruction to children, and when put together is an attractive toy.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of part Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same. Fig. 3 shows the ends of the toy girders. Fig. 4 represents the transverse girder and tie, and Fig. 5 is a separate view of one of the ornamental pieces for the ends of the girders.

The columns a are-notched at their upper ends by mortises or saw-cuts, the mortises for the longitudinal toy girders I) being deeper than those for the transverse beams 0; but the Width of the saw-cuts is such that the parts will fit tightly therein.

Each end of each toy girder is made hookshaped, as seen in Fig. 3, and one hook is half the width of the girder, so that the parts set tightly together, and there is an opening between the hooks for the neck 0 of the transverse beam or girder c.

In placing these parts together, one end of one of the longitudinal toy girders b is placed into its notch in the top of the column, with the throat of the hook in line with the transverse saw-cut of the column. The transverse beam 0 is now put into place, and then the end of the next girder b is hooked above the same. This makes a very firm interlocking of the respect ive parts, and holds the column upright.

The parts are to be put together, as aforesaid, at the top of each column, and the structure built of any suitable length, according to the number of girders and beams composing the toy; and in order to produce a finished appearance at the end of the girders b, there may be short sections hooked in, similar to the pieces shown in Fig. 5.

The transverse beams 0 are notched at 2 2 for the reception of the rails l, which rails are lap-jointed at their ends within the notches 2 2, so that the rails are held in place; but they project above the transverse beams c sufficiently to receive the wheels 8 of the toy cars or locomotives that are adapted to be drawn upon such rails.

This toy, although somewhat resembling the timbers and framing employed in the construction of buildings is as a whole a different and novel article, and the construction of the interlocking device is difi'erent.

I claim as my invention- 1. A toy composed of posts and connections with longitudinal slats representing rails, the whole forming a toy elevated railway, as a new article of manufacture.

2. In a toy elevated railway, the columns a, with incisions in the upper ends crossing at right angles, in combination with the toy girders I), having hook-shaped ends, and the transverse beams having the necks c, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 27th day of August, A.

CHAS. C. SHEPHERD.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM Gr. MoTT. 

